


will this maze guide me to you?

by limeli



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, 더 킹：영원의 군주 | The King: Eternal Monarch (TV)
Genre: Angst, Crossover, M/M, and as sappy as lee gon lol ╥╥, armin would make a great king, basically the product of mixing kdramas and my boys, please WATCH IT, you can tell im obsessed with that tv show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24352069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/limeli/pseuds/limeli
Summary: After a long absence from the King, Jean is left wondering how long it will take him to get there.
Relationships: Armin Arlert & Jean Kirstein, Armin Arlert/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	will this maze guide me to you?

**Author's Note:**

> look, i can just say tkem is driving me crazy and i can totally see them in that kind of relationship gee here's a little something for you

He'd planted that seed in the tiny blue flowerpot a month ago. Maybe, magic lilies just didn't grow in the Republic of Paradis. Couldn't. It really had never occurred to him, not even when he'd gone out shopping with Sasha. When she asked him the reason behind his new possession, he had given a brief, objective answer. One that could be typical of the kingdom. "It was time I got something to take care of." Pets were out of the question. Being a police officer didn't guarantee your beloved ball of fluff to be safe nor have an owner for the rest of its life. Sasha looked convinced, so she didn't pay much more attention to this change.

That seed was more to him. The proof it was all real. Therefore, it was still worth the effort. He watered the seemingly infertile earth crumbs, staring numbly to his feet. Taking care of the plant had been a great first try at independence, a baby step, considering he still lived with his mom. That plant meant an unspoken promise, an inevitable outcome of both worlds colliding by them. 

Unspoken? No. He'd been as straightforward as always. He'd said it first, and it didn't even cross his mind to question the validity of his feelings right then. If their story was to end strongly tragically, then it might as well be strongly passionate. However, the answer he'd gotten was abstract, almost imaginary. Pink spots filling the monarch's hollow cheeks.

Jean kept watering the same pot. He'd bought four more plants to keep the seed company. It was likely that the lily would grow even if it was out of peer pressure. At least, that's how Connie had brought himself to adjust to the rest of their police division. As narrow threads of water left the can's holes, Jean got lost in the eternal feeling such mundane practice offered him. Gardening felt like an activity of a lifetime. Pruning dry leaves, massaging the soil, endless one-sided conversations — he wished he could keep up the good work. Lately, it felt like he didn't do well enough. Something was missing — someone.

As he went to open the windows, a blurry shadow crept over the garden wall. The lights of Sasha's coffee shop remained on for safety, but considering the time of night it was, she probably was fast asleep. Her luxurious car wasn't around, only the traces of her wet wheels still present on the paved path before his place's main entrance. The shadow did not move, gold occasionally shining from what seemed to be a royal garment. It was the type of golden material that had served them for currency exchange many times before. Jean's eyes opened widely as he dropped his homemade watering can to the windowsill. He picked his keys from the front door and opened it abruptly, not minding how violent the motion may seem to his mother upstairs. Running downstairs hurriedly, Jean felt his eyes water fast as though someone had pinched him hard on the arm. He didn't notice the tears streaming down his chin until he heard his heavy breathing, which he made the effort to quiet down by pressing a hand to his lips.

His sneakers felt heavy, too, just like the rest of his clothes. What he needed, what he urged was speed, not delicacy. He was the tough one, he was the defiant one — he was the other side of the coin. He lived in the Republic. He was libertarian and unruly. He was Jean Kirschstein. No one else.

When he reached the fence, he opened the lock with a click. Silent steps approached him as he watched expectantly. The last time they'd spoken, he had promised to come back soon. He mentioned it would take him a bit longer than before, but that they would be next to each other soon. Jean spent weeks rejoicing in those few words. They had sounded so strong and unbreakable that he hadn't thought of questioning the ruler. Instead, he'd taken them to heart, marking his thoughts each day that passed. The longing was unbearable, insufferable, yet delightful. No thoughts beat the fact that he was right there nonetheless.

The street lights were dim at that time, making the blonde hairs of a parted fringe brightly colored. In presence of such beauty, he suddenly felt inexplicably unappealing. His pair of grey shorts and hoodie just couldn't near the elegance and sophistication his heart sported. Not even the white of his sneakers could possibly compare to the pureness of his milky skin covered in tight black silk. Jean sighed as the much clearer vision of a real-life prince came into his view, a smile starting to form on his quivering lips.

Yet the king's eyes looked lost, even hurt. There was a possibility he shouldn't have been there at the moment. It had taken him so long, but how long was enough for them to meet again? The pair of leather shoes making contact with the pavement greeted him as a response. 

"Hi," His Majesty spoke in a low volume, his breath shaking as he stood at a distance from the Republic's public worker. "Have you been doing well?"

Jean stared back at him in disbelief. Maybe, it was all a product of his mind. The sense of missing too much was probably driving him nuts. He nodded for a response and pressed his lips tightly as his eyes watered again. How long was enough for him to come back?

Jean opened his mouth to complain, to cry out the loneliness he'd bottled up while being left alone in the Republic of Paradis, which felt nothing like his world anymore. He couldn't bring himself to, though, so he hinted at it almost imperceptibly. "It took you a while this time, Armin Arlert."

The name no one was to address the King as being his comeback and consolation

"That's because I had to come from very far away this time," His Majesty whispered back with a trembling voice. He stood straight to appear as diplomatic as he could, trying to back up his absence by means of an unnecessary statement. Showing his inner mathematician now just wouldn't do. They both knew how things worked.

"I realized," after a long pause, the monarch decided to speak. "I've never given you any flowers before."

To Jean, he looked like a broken man. He sounded like one, too. However, his blue eyes radiated the same amount of love and dedication he had known him with. Even as the shaky hand extending a rustic bouquet got closer, the King's trembling exhalations proved him right. Somehow, it crossed Jean's mind that it felt more like a funeral than another unscheduled meeting from a parallel universe.

"That's why I crossed the universe."

They remained in silence. Jean stared into the other's eyes, trying to get something out of them. An explanation, a clue, anything. He took two steps forward in a living-dead fashion, but he soon regretted it. He stopped, his eyes glowing and his mind racing. Despite his attempts at figuring him out, Jean could not get around any ideas. Instead, he ended up focusing on how despaired and distressed the King looked, but he made no attempts at pointing that out.

After a while, the young leader opened his mouth with eyes that seemed to fall on a declarative type of look. Quickly, his intentions to sound fierce and immovable were turned into a puddle of incontrolable feelings in sight of the civilian. He took three steps forward, the breeze moving his short blonde hair with every step. The ruler of the Kingdom of Paradis took Jean's hands gracefully, passing him the flowers and encircling the pair of strong hands around the set of flower stems. "But I can't stay any longer. I have to go back."

As the King has setting Jean's hands free, he rushed to get a hold of them once more. He clang to them on the verge of despair. "You have to go back now?"

Silence. The sound of the night breeze. The foliage of trees moving to its rhythm.

"Right," the Kingdom of Paradis' head offered as the most honest response. Now was not the time to open up about everything, not when it was just a miracle to have both of them together so soon. "I also realized I never told you this."

Jean waited, his pair of chestnut eyes getting all the attention of his lover's gaze. A clock inside his head ticked, like those in time-bombs. Nothing could possibly deactivate the bomb that his train of thought could be right there and then.

"I love you."

A long pause. Jean's heart about to burst. The King's misery being slightly replaced by a feeling of comfort. A sense of temporal relief.

"I am deeply," the ruler continued before gulping down nervously. Not even once had he smiled in light of the events of the day. There was nothing more to do that just open his heart to Jean before he left. "in love with you."

Of all the times he'd cried, he left a bit of his cowardice as he watched Jean's expression change to one of unconditional love and devotion. Hearing his quiet sobs, the King stood on his toes, moving his face closer to Jean's with one of his pale hands on the other's lightly tanned cheek. Although it seemed like Kirschstein was about to say something, the blonde monarch made his way to the officer's lips without a doubt. As their lips touched in a light, soft kiss, he closed his eyes and focus his attention on their breathing. He was not certain whether it would be a goodbye kiss, for the time ahead of him would be spent in extremely compromising situations for him as the current king of Paradis and the second in line of succession. Yeager would be hard to get, and no one assured him he would accomplish that alive. No one could guarantee him a safe trip back home, to the arms of his beloved other from across the universe.

As Jean felt tears fall down on his hoodie, he squeezed the King's hand on his cheek. He kissed back as soon as the light pink lips of the blue-eyed royal boy touched his. He made sure to get a feel of the texture as to not forget. If it hadn't been for the fresh, cool sensation brought to his mouth, Jean would have had the change to also remember their taste. Nevertheless, the police officer slowly opened his eyes, the light of both his worlds already gone. He stood by the fence alone, his yard surrounding him as quietly as before. An illusion, a dream. He couldn't put words on it.

The flowers, his last resort. He felt a few petals detach from the flowers, falling down to the place where his lover's feet had been. His breathing became uneven in bewilderment. Not meaning to crush them, Jean pressed the improvised bouquet to his chest. A mind trick? A lie? He sobbed quietly, trying to get a hold of that turmoil inside his head. Once he couldn't control it, he covered his mouth with one of his hands, his hope crumbling down. Only the toes of his feet supported whole of his body near the ground, his knees bent as he fought against turning into a ball of sorrow. When he couldn't take it anymore, he let himself fall, never letting go of his flowers as muffled sobs fought against the pressure of his hand.

His Majesty would have liked him not to worry. They would meet again, he had promised before his departure. They had made a vow not to let life get in their way.

**Author's Note:**

> i've thought of the characters from snk for both universes and the result would be amazing ahhhh thank you so much for reading this shortie


End file.
